American Indian mascot exemption requirements amendment

SF 97 amends Minnesota law to change how public schools can seek exemptions from rules prohibiting American Indian mascots. It requires schools to seek exemption approval only from American Indian tribes located in the same county as the school (or from the Tribal Nations Education Committee), rather than all 11 federally recognized tribes in Minnesota. If no tribe in the county objects by a specified deadline, the school is exempt. This directly affects public schools using American Indian mascots who must now follow a simplified tribal consultation process under the amended statute (Minnesota Statutes 121A.041, subd. 3).